The Denver Broncos wrapped up their 2026 NFL Draft class with a total of seven picks, with six of those coming on Day 3. As General Manager George Paton had noted on Friday night, the middle picks would likely define their draft class. None likely more evident than their first pick in the fourth round; Washington running back Jonah Coleman.
When asked about the Coleman selection, Head Coach Sean Payton made a strong comparison of his running style to none other than J.K. Dobbins’ style noting that
the comparison was a compliment.
“I think as you go through the reads on the runner [Jonah Coleman] for instance, both Jonah and then there was one other back we kept thinking… They were graded early in the third, end of the second,” Payton said. “That’s that tough scenario, ‘Will they make it to 108?’ It helped they were both available because we had discussed even climbing back. So Jonah came in for a visit. We spent a lot of time with him. I saw something that compared his running style, and I think the comparison was J.K. [Dobbins], and I think that’s a compliment obviously to the way Dobbins runs. He’s a physical runner. So we were real familiar with him.
Does this mean Coleman will emerge as the starter next season? I would guess the answer to that would be ‘absolutely not’, but what he becomes is what Denver lacked last season when Dobbins went down with injury — insurance. If they lose Dobbins at any time during next season, even if only for a game, they now have a backup who can come in and provide the offense the similar kind of run style.
Absent Dobbins, the Broncos offense languished badly once Bo Nix went down. If they had even just a little run game in the AFC Championship, maybe the outcome of the season is slightly different.
I love the pick and I love the comparison.
